Kolhan, a region in Jharkhand, became a focal point during the state assembly elections. This followed Champai Soren’s departure from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) on August 28, 2024, when he resigned from his cabinet position and as an MLA. Subsequently, the Hemant Soren government appointed Ramdas Soren as the cabinet minister, replacing Champai Soren.
Ramdas Soren was elected as an MLA for the third time from the Ghatshila assembly seat, defeating Babulal Soren, the son of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Champai Soren, in the November 2024 elections. He took the oath as a minister in the Hemant Soren government’s cabinet on December 5, 2024.
Kolhan consists of East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum, and Kharsawan districts. The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha has maintained its dominance in this area. However, August 2025 proved to be a month of irreplaceable loss for the JMM, the ruling party in Jharkhand.
The death of Dishom Guru Shibu Soren, the founder, patron, and former central president of the JMM, a former Chief Minister, and a Rajya Sabha MP, on August 4th, had the party and the state’s people still reeling. Ramdas Soren, the Education Minister and a prominent leader from Kolhan, passed away at Apollo Hospital in Delhi on August 15th.
The deaths of two prominent leaders within a span of 12 days in August have deeply impacted not only Chief Minister Hemant Soren but also the party’s organization. With the passing of Ramdas Soren, who replaced former Chief Minister Champai Soren as Education Minister, a major question arises: who will now lead the politics of the Kolhan division?
Several prominent JMM leaders are present in Kolhan, including former minister and current Lok Sabha MP Joba Manjhi, ministers Deepak Biruwa, MLAs Sameer Mohanty, Mangal Kalindi, Niral Purti, and Sonaram Sinku, all of whom stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Hemant Soren to uphold the JMM’s presence in Kolhan.
The main question remains: who will take over the reins of Kolhan’s politics? Kolhan division and Jharkhand are currently in mourning following the loss of two of their prominent leaders.
Earlier, on April 6, 2023, the JMM suffered a significant blow when Jagannath Mahto, the then Education Minister known as ‘Tiger,’ passed away. He died on April 6, 2023, at Apollo Hospital in Chennai after a long illness.
Before that, the late Minister Jagarnath Mahto underwent a lung transplant surgery after contracting COVID-19, after which his health was never fully stable. His health deteriorated during the budget session of the assembly in March 2023, and he was admitted to a hospital in Chennai on March 14, 2023, for better treatment. Jagannath Mahto, who was elected as an MLA four times from the Dumri assembly seat in Jharkhand. After his death, his wife, Baby Devi, was inducted into the cabinet without being an MLA and was sworn in as a minister.
Later, she was made a candidate in the by-election and contested and won as a minister. However, Jagannath Mahto’s political legacy came to an end in the 2024 assembly elections, and Jayram Mahto, the head of the JLKM party, defeated Baby Devi, the wife of the late Jagannath Mahto, in the election.
With the passing of Education Minister Ramdas Soren, discussions are now commonplace regarding who will take over his political legacy and the impact on Kolhan’s politics. Following the sudden deaths of two prominent leaders within 12 days, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, the state government, and the entire state are in double mourning.
